Wall of Faces seeks photos of remaining six Saline County fallen

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Arron Hustead/Staff Writer

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Volunteer Janna Hoehn with pictures sent to her from across the country for the Virtual Wall of Faces, which will include a picture of each name featured on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. (Contributed Photo)

More than 58,000 names cover the wall at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund continues to attempt to put a face with each of those names in an ongoing project titled "Faces Never Forgotten." The VVMF has created a Virtual Wall of Faces that can be explored online by visiting the organization's website. However, the project remains unfinished with more than 47,000 photos obtained to date. Volunteers such as Janna Hoehn of Maui, Hawaii, continue to seek the last remaining photos of the conflict's fallen.

Hoehn has been involved with the organization for the past four years, in which time she has helped to put a photo with each of the fallen from Maui County, where she currently resides, as well as those from her childhood hometown of Hemet, Calif.

"I have been very involved in trying to locate photos of the Native American soldiers which brought me to start searching for all soldiers in California," Hoehn said in a prepared statement, adding that through reaching out through more than 500 newspapers across 15 states, the project has made considerable progress toward its goal. "The response has been amazing. I have collected nearly 4,000 photos since May 2013."

Any photos received by Faces Never Forgotten will be submitted to the VVMF's Virtual Wall of Faces, as well as the future education center that will be built adjacent to the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in the nation's capital.

"Putting a face with a name changes the whole dynamic of the Wall," Hoehn said. "It keeps our fallen heroes' memories alive and will honor them. Our heroes' stories and sacrifice will never be forgotten."

Hoehn and Veterans Never Forgotten are urging any relatives, friends or classmates of those still missing from the photo wall to make contact. Hoehn can be reached via email at neverforgotten2014@gmail.com. Hoehn said it's possible those with a fallen friend or loved one not on the list of the remaining needed could be in possession of a better photo than the one already included in the virtual wall and can submit those as well.

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Can you get copies of the Marshall people (David Dittmer, Clay Holt, and Bobby Jackson) from the Marshall High School yearbooks?